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FIFA President Gianni Infantino will stand for re-election next year.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the world football governing body said: “The FIFA President announced in April that he will stand for re-election in 2027. Of course, nothing has changed. Mr Infantino will be standing for re-election.”
Infantino, who was first elected as president in 2016, has been under huge pressure since FIFA announced a highly controversial – and since scrapped – private investment plan in late July, which would have seen third-party investors invited to take stakes in a commercial subsidiary dubbed the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
The proposal drew fierce pushback from across the football community, with some accusing FIFA of looking to “sell” the sport.
A major divide quickly opened up in world football over Infantino’s position as head of the governing body, with regional confederations and individual nations split over whether he should continue.
In August, European nations withdrew a threat to boycott FIFA competitions after UEFA said it had received “assurances” that the FFE plan had been “irrevocably and permanently withdrawn” and that it “will not re-appear in any other shape, construction, name or form.”
UEFA has nevertheless continued to push for Infantino’s removal.
The next FIFA presidential election is due to take place at the 77th FIFA Congress on Thursday, 18 March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco.
Speaking at the 76th Congress in Vancouver, Canada earlier this year, Infantino vowed to re-run for the presidency.
“I want to tell you first – the 211 (FIFA) Member Associations – that I will be (a) candidate for the election of FIFA President next year,” he said to assembled delegates. “Thank you for your support over the last 10 years, your support today, your work, your progress, your love for the game, your commitment, and your passion.”